Mounting Terminal Strips, Bus Bars, etc. to Hull

[davisr]

I have quite a few terminal strips, bus bars, and zip-tie bases to mount to the hull. For obvious reasons I would prefer to avoid screws. I have many scrap pieces of 1/2 mahogany. I'm considering using these as bases, into which I can screw the above mentioned items. I'm thinking that I'll use thickened epoxy or 5200 to bond these mahogany strips to the hull. More time and effort, but a least I will be able to remove the bus bars, etc. if I ever need to. Does this sound like a prudent course of action, or is there a better way that I'm not aware of?

Thanks,
Roscoe

[Tony B]

I was thinking the same thing about the 5200 and then - there it was - you answered it before I finished reading.
I personally wood use a piece of marine plywood for the backing instead of a solid piece of mahogany. The mahogany could split. If you want it to look good also, use the mahogany for trim around the plywood.

[davisr]

Has anyone ever used the Weld Mount system? It seems that the chief benefit of this system is that it allows you quickly to adhere cable tie mounts, etc to the hull. The downside appears to be that it's expensive, and it's permanent. In other words, those plastic zip tie mounts will be there forever, even when they've grown old, become cracked, or are no longer needed in that particular spot.

Weld Mount AT-4020 Adhesive

[Scott Berg]

We use Weld Mount every day... Works wonders for on hull mounts
Makes for strong, neat wire and plumbing runs.

[davisr]

Weld Mount indicates that their Tie Mounts are desiged to work with Weld Mount adhesives. This makes sense, because these plastic Tie Mounts have nubs on the base for aiding in this adhesion. What do you do, though, when it comes to terminal strips and bus bars, specifically, the terminal blocks and bus bars by Blue Sea Systems that many people commonly use?

Roscoe

[sww914]

5200 takes a week to dry according to the directions. I tried to glue something with it once and forgot that, it was still dripping after 2 days. I would use (and have used) thickened epoxy. Sand the area lightly with 100-240 grit and clean well with acetone or lacquer thinner. Improper cleaning is usually the cause of failed glue joints IMO.
I did what you suggested, glued wooden blocks to the hull with thickened epoxy to support our holding tank shelf and it's held beautifully. Fast hardener is your friend when making glue.

[Matt Johnson]

I bought the Weld Mount wire tie mounts from JMSonline.net, 50ml dispensing gun from ebay for $10 and a tube of Methyl Methacrylate which is what Weldmount uses for their adhesive. The glue I got was 14320 Devcon plastic weld. It works great and is a lot cheaper than the proprietary stuff.


To mount plywood to the hull, I used thickened epoxy too.

[HopCar]

I used the wood block and 5200 technique to mount storage hooks for my boat hook and deck brush. They have been in my cockpit for at least ten years now. I see no problem using it to mount buss bars and terminal strips. I used little teak blocks as that matches the rest of the wood on my boat. I also used a very large version of that technique to mount my battery charger. I wanted to put the charger in a locker but the back wall of the locker was the inside of the hull. It would have been real easy to screw through the hull. I used 5200 to mount a piece of plywood to the back of the locker and screwed the charger, breakers and a terminal strip to it. No need to mess with epoxy, the 5200 will work fine. Just wipe both surfaces with alcohol or acetone to remove any oils or wax.
I just read sww914's post. He makes a good point about 5200 dry time. I used masking tape to hold my blocks in place overnight before I messed witrh it. I may have higher humidity than sww914 and 5200 kicks off faster for me.
Of course 5200 Fast Cure would probably work just as well in this application.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day all,

A small trick I was shown: when mounting stuff with slow-setting adhesive, put the goo on, stick in place and then "tack weld" it with hot-melt glue. This holds it in position until the adhesive kicks off and then it is easily removed. Obviously only works with relatively light objects... like mounting pads for terminal strips, etc.

Cheers,

Jim

[davisr]

Curious about your reference to 14320 Devcon, I took a look around. 14320 Devcon plastic weld is strikingly similar in appearance to the Weld Mount adhesives. The product description is also very similar. The price, though, is not. Devcon is about half as much.


http://www.amazon.com/14320-Devcon-5.../dp/B000P1HFKM

Weld Mount AT-4020 Adhesive

[gonesail]

i like the wood blocks with thickened epoxy. much better than screwing into fiberglass .. especially when the screw goes thru the hull below waterline

[CharlieJ]

+1 for Jim Cate's comment (#9) with some modification.

The next shop is a carpenter with lots of scrap plywood, furniture grade, of course! I cut this into 3" x 6" blocks and then "hot coat" the blocks with polyester resin thinned with styrene and with about 5% MEK. Each block is dipped in this and placed on a bed of nails to cure. The high % MEK makes the resin kick very quickly!

On the job, I wipe down the location with alcohol as the preparation. Rarely do I have to sand the surface. I put dabs of 5200 Fast Cure (24 hr cure time) on the prepared block, and dabs of hot glue in the corners. Stick the dead wood block in the prepared area and Bob's your uncle.

Alternatively, and especially for big jobs, I use a product made by King Plastics (mfgr of Starboard) called King eBoard. This product comes in sheets with loops every 6". The loops are either in a parallel row or cross hatch configuration and the sheets come in either a bare back or with a scrim. King E-Board | King Plastic Corporation

I cut the sheets of eBoard into appropriate widths. For attaching to the hull, I use the scrim backed eBoard and attach the strips using 5200 FC and hot glue as above. Otherwise I use eBoard without the scrim and screw it to the surface using #10 panhead screws.

Charlie

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by davisr

Curious about your reference to 14320 Devcon, I took a look around. 14320 Devcon plastic weld is strikingly similar in appearance to the Weld Mount adhesives.

I spent many afternoons surfing the internet trying to figure out how to mount wire ties with adhesive and found the Devcon weld... it was later that I found the Weldmount items that served the same function.

Here are the stainless weld nuts that I used to mount my autopilot computer to the hull. They offer a much larger selection than Weldmount does. (click here)

[Danosimp3]

I've done similar. I used Southern yellow pine block, bonded to the hull with polyester resin. I then painted the block to seal it. Works great and no holes in my hull. I really dont think marine grad wood is needed. But, if you have scrap then use it up.

[Matt Johnson]

In 1989 when Sabre built our boat, they used marine plywood blocks epoxied to the hull to mount wire ties. Unfortunately, at least 50% of these have delaminated and pulled away from the hull. This is why I have gone to plastics.... in 23 years, I hope these are still attached.